Friday Focus: Round 10 vs Dragons

Standing in their way are the St George Illawarra Dragons, who have lost their last four matches and sit just one win ahead of Tim Sheens’ side on the ladder.

Wests Tigers fullback Jahream Bula earned praise for his performance against Penrith as he came up with the match-winning try-assist and a try-saving tackle on Nathan Cleary.

This week, Bula will be up against Tyrell Sloan, who has demonstrated his ability to break apart opposition defences on several occasions this season.

Ahead of this week’s trip to Magic Round, we take a closer look at the two young fullbacks set to do battle at Suncorp Stadium.

After making his debut at Campbelltown against Manly, Jahream Bula has won the hearts of Wests Tigers fans with two strong performances in challenging playing conditions.

The Keebra Park product accumulated 177 running metres and five tackle breaks against the Sea Eagles, with a Houdini-like escape from the in-goal area proving a highlight for the Macarthur faithful.

Bula then backed up his debut performance with a stellar display last weekend, seemingly unfazed by the monsoonal rain as he sent a floating cutout ball to David Nofoaluma and defused every bomb from Penrith’s representative halfback.

Followers of the Western Suburbs Magpies NSW Cup side know the potential strike power held by the Auckland-born livewire, after Bula claimed a kick and beat six players for an incredible individual 90-metre effort at Leichhardt in Round 1.

Tyrell Sloan is another player who is no stranger to freakish feats on the field, and the Dragons’ fullback will be hoping to pull off a few tricks of his own at Magic Round.

The 20-year-old has chalked up four tries this season, with his best performance of the year coming in his side’s attempted comeback on ANZAC Day.

In front of a capacity crowd at Allianz Stadium, Sloan broke through two tackles and provided a flick pass for Tautau Moga to score before supporting centre Moses Suli and weaving past Joseph Suaali’i for a try of his own under the posts.

Sloan was a part of the Dragons outfit that narrowly defeated Wests Tigers at CommBank Stadium last season and his side will be keen to see a repeat result at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday.